On Monday Chuck had a stress test, cardiac test that is......The EKG looked good and no changes. Yesterday the cardiologist's office called and today we went to see him. He has to have a cardiac cath. No emergency, but it has to be done shortly.......With the stress test first you have a heart scan after injection of some nuclear material, then you walk on the treadmill for seven to eight minutes and then they scan your heart again. The results of the scan are not instantaneous......it showed some area of ischemia so hence the cardiac cath
. http://md.gehealthcare.com/patient/diaguide/cathexam.html
This is done with sedation and a catheter is inserted in the groin and fed up thru the heart. After going thru the chambers it is inserted in one of the coronary arteries and dye is injected, x rays are taken and any narrowing is shown as a constriction in the artery........He already has a stent and either the stent is constricted, or there is a new blockage....This test will tell. He was upset but I and the doctor said, he has not had a MI (heart attack) and there is not any damage to the heart. So, what ever is the problem it can be repaired with the cath. There is about a 1% chance that he would need an Open Heart with a coronary artery bypass
graft, unlikely so we will go with the flow. http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/coronary-artery-bypass-graft-cabg-surgery
He has to set a date, but it probably will be in the next few weeks.
I really needed your knowledge when my second husband had heart problems, Of course 40 years ago it was much different. Vetereans Hospital gave him 1q0 years and he lived 12 . My present hisband went into heart failure and Dr. didn't give us a lot of hope but he made it, and is doing well so far. My Daughter in law is a nurse and speaks very little about her knowledge. She is always there if one of us wind up in hospital. Lucy
ReplyDeleteglad the doctors caught it earlier than later and that the test goes as well as it can and whatever blockage that is there can be fixed with a stent; glad that you/doctor are giving your husband wise wisdom about this too!
ReplyDeletelet us know how it comes out
betty